"They melted [the ice]," she said. "They put some salt around it to dissolve the ice."

Sassano and other town officials received complaints last week about the tattered flag. The town, however, couldn't pull down the damaged banner because the recent deep freeze had frozen the flagpole lines. The tattered flag was stuck in place for about a week.

Town employees took advantage of the thaw late last week to finally unfreeze the lines and replace the flag.

"The crew knew they needed to replace it," she said.

Sassano said that the town typically replaces the American flag at town hall twice a year, but the Connecticut flag less often. Why the American flag wears out faster is a mystery since the same company makes both banners, she said.

The town always has extra flags on hand in case one is damaged, Sassano said.

The tattered Connecticut flag hauled down last week was turned over the town fire marshal, Sassano said. He works with the Boy Scouts to dispose of disused flags, she said.